BONY MOUNTAIN, NSW, 5 August 2026 — Award-winning Australian country and folk artist Norma O’Hara Murphy is preparing to release Freedom Road, her fourteenth studio album and a deeply personal new collection shaped by experience, resilience and a lifelong connection to rural Australia.
The album is available for pre-order now and will be launched live at the Bony Mountain Folk Festival in September 2026. The release continues an extraordinary recording career that began in the early 1980s and has established Murphy as one of Australia’s most distinctive country storytellers.
Recorded at LUSH Studios on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Freedom Road was mixed by longtime engineer Russ “Rusty” Pilling. The project brings Murphy’s unmistakable songwriting voice into a new chapter, blending country and folk influences with the direct, grounded storytelling that has defined her work for more than five decades.
The first single, Tennessee Waltz, is available now. The album can be pre-ordered on CD for $29.95, while the digital download is priced at $16.95.
Songs Shaped by a Life on the Land
Murphy’s music has always drawn from real places and real people. Raised in Victoria’s Murray Valley region in a third-generation Irish-Australian family, she developed an early bond with horses, rural communities and the landscapes that would later become central to her songs.
Her debut album, Rodeo Queen, was recorded in Coffs Harbour in 1982. From the beginning, her work stood apart for its strong sense of place and its respect for regional Australian life. Horses, campdrafting, station work, family history and the changing face of the bush all became part of a catalogue that continues to resonate with listeners.
Over the years, Murphy has released albums including River Gums & Mallee Dust, Closer Now, Sweet Rain, Whiskey Gully Road and Bloodlines. Songs such as The Outlaw and the Lady and The Campdrafter helped build her reputation as a songwriter capable of capturing both the toughness and tenderness of country life.
Freedom Road carries that tradition forward while reflecting the perspective of an artist looking back on a remarkable journey and still finding new stories to tell.
A Celebrated Australian Career
Murphy’s contribution to Australian country music has been recognised with five Golden Guitar awards, an ARIA nomination for her 1991 album Closer Now, and induction into the Australian Country Music Hands of Fame in 1989.
Her music has also reached audiences beyond Australia. During the mid-1990s, she toured internationally, including performances in the United Kingdom, China and Japan.
While now semi-retired from regular touring, Murphy remains creatively active from her home at Bony Mountain in New South Wales. Alongside songwriting and recording, she continues her work as an environmentalist, gardener, horsewoman and festival coordinator.
That combination of music, land and community remains central to her identity. It is also woven through the heart of Freedom Road.
Live Launch at Bony Mountain
The official album launch will take place at the Bony Mountain Folk Festival in September 2026, offering audiences the chance to experience the new material live.
The festival has become an important gathering for lovers of Australian folk, country and Celtic music. This year’s program will also feature Hillbilly Goats, The Coads and Barley Shakes.
For Murphy, launching the album at Bony Mountain brings the project full circle. The region is more than her home. It is part of the creative landscape behind the music.
Freedom Road is a new release from an artist whose songs have long celebrated independence, memory, hardship and the enduring character of rural Australia.
About Norma O’Hara Murphy
Norma O’Hara Murphy is an Australian country and folk singer-songwriter based at Bony Mountain, New South Wales. She is a five-time Golden Guitar winner, an ARIA-nominated recording artist and an inductee into the Australian Country Music Hands of Fame. Since releasing Rodeo Queen in 1982, she has built a respected catalogue of songs inspired by the Australian bush, horses, regional communities and lived experience. Freedom Road is her fourteenth studio album.
Media Contact
Norma O’Hara Murphy
Media enquiries, album information and festival details: